Anonymous said at 11:05pm Apr 16, 2008

not Spiros, unless your lookin' to get knifed in the alley next to it....basically just stay away from red river, and go to places that charge cover, its usually worth it- basically it will weed out a good 75% of the hood rats

Anonymous said at 11:05pm Apr 16, 2008

Most of the categories are pretty much covered already (above and below), but if you're interested in having a drink, talking to friends, and watching an entertaining and often amusing show, go to Pete's Dueling Piano Bar. They have two pianists who take requests of ALL types of music to play, and they can be absolutely hilarious in their competition, their renditions of the songs, and their reactions to some of the song requests! The best I've seen there are Devil Went Down to Georgia (by far the best) and Joy to the World (just because they had a bride-to-be up there doing the motions with one of the musicians--it got a little raunchy).

a different point of view

Red River "district" is a better than 6th Street, but I wouldn't call them "party places", just bars with live bands that you'll be glad you saw at a small venue once they start playing arenas. Cover charges without live bands are horeshit. I've spent over a decade hanging out at Emo's and the dark alley next to it and only the people that got knifed deserved it... most of them the type of person that would consider entering Sprio's. ;)

The San Pedro mansion at 2708 San Pedro was probably one of the best party places in Austin, but will be torn down this summer. Beware, incidents involving knives, fire, bowling balls, and skateboards have occurred with great frequency in the past.

Anonymous said at 11:05pm Apr 16, 2008

Depends what you are looking for

Cheap Drinks
Of course Sixth Street is going to be your best bet. The more popular bars are of course The Library, Aquarium, and Maggie Mae's. They always have some sort of specials going on that makes going downtown every weekend very affordable. Other great places are Soho, Chuggin' Monkey, Blind Pig Pub (they offer great live music -- but if you don't want to fight the crowds at the bar, go to Maggie Mae's and listen from there), and Treasure Island (though.. the drinks in this place aren't very good).

Great Dancing (without the cover)
Spill is a great after-buzzed location for everyone to get down and dirty on the dance floor. DO NOT buy drinks here. They are always overpriced and terribly made. Barcelona and Latitude also offer fairly good dancing space as well as great music. Soho is great too, but all too often, their music selection leaves one wanting more. These places are more for the younger, college-age crowd. Other locations for yuppies ages mid-20s and up are listed below.

Lounging Around
If you're for a more low-key evening and not in the mood to deal with rambunctious college students, Warehouse District is definitely the place to go. Cuba Libre and Saba Blue offer great mojitos. 219 West is always a dependable location as well. Halcyon offers a wide variety of coffee delights (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) for those wanting to discuss politics and other deeper subjects on any night of the week.

Yuppies
Of course besides the Warehouse District, there are several great places off of fifth such as Red Fez, Apple Bar (which serves an absolutely delish Apple Martini), Light Bar, and Lucky Lounge -- which amazingly has lines even on a Tuesday evening (mostly due to the popu